POACEAE. 55 



and 2-5 cm. long; spikelets compressed, 5-6 mm. long, 3-flowered; glumes 

 slightly unequal, the upper longer and broader; lemma lance-ovate, acute, 

 3-4 mm. long, with a tuft of hairs at base and long-villous on the keel and 

 marginal nerves below the middle. 

 Boggy places in the mountains. 



Poa bolanderi Vasey. A glabrous, loosely tufted, short-lived perennial, 

 30-50 cm. high, erect; leaf blades few, thin, soft, rather short; panicle erect, 

 narrow, 10—12 cm. long, the branches few at the well separated nodes and 

 usually remaining erect; spikelets 1-3-flowered, 2-3 mm. long; lemma smooth, 

 the basal web scanty. 



Vancouver Island to California. 



Poa howellii Vasey. Very similar to P. bolanderi; lemma acute, pubes- 

 cent; florets dropping very readily. 



In dry woods, not rare. Vancouver Island to California. 



Poa alpina L. Stems 15-30 cm. high; blades short, linear, flat, 3-6 mm. 

 wide; panicle usually purple, short pyramidal; spikelets broadly ovate, 

 3-9-flowered; lemma villous on the midrib and nerves below. 



In the mountains, Alaska to Washington. 



Poa pachypholis Piper. Densely tufted, 15-30 cm. high; leaves glaucous, 

 the blades narrow and involute; panicle short, thick, very close; glumes and 

 lemma thick and firm; lemma pubescent on the lower half of the nerves. 



Ocean Bluffs at Ilwaco, Washington. 



Poa lettermani Vasey. Very dwarf, tufted, only 5-10 cm. high; panicle 

 purple, 1-2 cm. long, oblong, quite dense; spikelets 2-4-flowered; lemma 

 oblong, acutish, glabrous. 



Mount Rainier, at 3000 m. altitude. 



Poa suksdorfii Vasey. Pale green, densely tufted, 10-20 cm. high; blades 

 folded or involute, rather numerous; panicle narrow and spike-like, 3-8 cm. 

 long; spikelets 1-3-flowered; lemma ovate, thin and papery, 4-5 mm. long. 



In loose gravel in the mountains at high elevations. 



Poa sandbergii Vasey. Perennial, glabrous, not glaucous, tufted; the 

 stems 15-50 cm. tall; basal leaves numerous, the blades 5-10 cm. long, linear; 

 stem leaves 2, low down, the blades 1—2 cm. long, the sheaths often purple; 

 panicle 4-10 cm. long, narrow, the ascending branches in whorls of 2-5, 

 spikelet-bearing near the top; spikelets 2-4-flowered, usually purplish; lemmas 

 oblong, 3.5 mm. long, sparsely pubescent above, villous near the base. 



In dry places in the mountains, rare; common in the interior. 



Poa paddensis Williams. (P. purpurascens Vasey.) Densely tufted; 

 stems 15-30 cm. high; blades flat or loosely involute, 2-4 mm. wide; panicle 

 erect or spreading, dark purple, rather close; spikelets thick, 3-5-flowered; 

 glumes ovate, acutish; lemmas ovate, sparsely scabrous. 



In alpine meadows, common. Vancouver Island to Oregon. 



Poa multnomae Piper. Densely tufted, 10-30 cm. high; basal leaves 

 numerous, very narrow, smooth, folded; panicle loose; spikelets ovate-lan- 

 ceolate, 3-5-flowered, 5-7 mm. long; lemma ovate, acutish, puberulent at 

 base, scarious at apex. 



On rock cliffs along the Columbia. 



Poa alcea Piper. Much like P. multnomae but taller; ligules conspicuous; 

 spikelets oblong, 6-9 mm. long, mostly 5-flowered. 



On moist rock cliffs, Elk Rock, near Portland, Oregon, and southward. 



Poa saxatilis Scribn. & Williams. Densely tufted alpine perennial, 20-30 

 cm. tall; basal leaves numerous, green, the blades 2-6 cm. long, flat, slightly 



